WALL STREET CRASH OF 1929 - BLACK TUESDAY

October 29th 1929 , the stock market crashes and the largest economic downturn in history began , the great depression. This event was known as Black Tuesday and it marked the largest ever upset on wall street. Investors lost $14 billion on the  New York stock Exchange, equalling $199 billion in 2017 dollars today. During the four days following the crash, investors and the public lost more than $30 billion which was more 10times the federal budget.

But What caused Black Tuesday? How could a financial crisis this large come about? Part of the blame for the crash on Black Tuesday was how stock brokers played the market in 1929. Because nothing was digital, the brokers had to write out physically the changes in the values of stock. This caused people to never really know the true value of their stock. The time delay made people anxious and uproar ensued. The investors began selling their stocks at record speeds,plunging the value of everything. Many have their entire life savings wiped out, and even committed suicide. At one point New York hotel clerks even cynically asked incoming guests, "You want a room for sleeping or jumping?". Ultimately this crash among the other factors led to great depression.

From 1929 to 1939 , the US experienced what was part of the worst economic downturn in the industrialized world. Hoover believed that the government should not interfere directly with the economy and therefore this was his solution to the great depression, yet this was ineffective and the country continued to suffer. 

Ultimately FDR won the presidency and led the country back on the path to repairing the disastrous financial market. FDR implemented system of programs to restore the country called the "New Deal".  This included programs such as Work Progress Administration (WPA) which provided permanent employment for about 8.5 million people. Additionally he created the civilian conservation corps (CCC) which employed millions of young men on environmental projects. 

In the end FDR's programs began to work the country's increased steadily by 9%. However the lesser known fact is How much the World War-2 helped the economy. The production of weapons, uniforms and other wartime goods spurred the economy. Without war spurring production the recession could have lasted much longer. Ultimately America owes its end of recession to a war that bolstered the economy.